Different Cultures Different Standards

I have written this as a response to some comments in a blog before, but I would like to feature it again as an individual blog since I really find this quite interesting. 

What happened was - a while back, I’ve gone for a holiday to the Philippines with a bunch of friends.  One day, we witnessed a Filipino kid do something dangerous and was told by his grand mum that if he does it again, his hands would be “chopped off” !!

Following are the different reactions by my Hong Kong girlfriend and my American girlfriend.

AMERICAN GIRL:

How can they say such thing to a kid?

It is so violent!  It must have given nightmares

to the kid.

HONG KONG GIRL:

No.  The grandmum is saying this to prevent the kid from doing this again.  Actually, she wants to protect the kid!

HONG KONG GIRL:

I used to admire Woody Allen a lot, but not after he has seduced his stepdaughter.  She was ONLY 15 years old!  That is so inmoral!

AMERICAN GIRL:

Hey, she was ALREADY 15 years old!  She’s not that young! Besides, she was never Woody Allen’s step daughter.  She was only the step daughter of Mia Farrow (Woody Allen's girlfriend then) and the step sister of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow’s biological child and their adopted children!

AMERICAN GIRL:

How is it to be ruled by the Chinese?  You guys in Hong Kong can’t vote for your own Chief Executive in Hong Kong, right?

HONG KONG GIRL:

You are right.  We can’t.   So, on the 6th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover back to China (i.e. on July 1st, 2003) half a million Hong Kongers, marched peacefully on the streets to express our discontents towards the government.  Considering that it was a very hot day and the narrow streets of Hong Kong were packed full of impatient Hong Kong people, but NOT A SINGLE DUST BIN WAS BEING KICKED OVER.  Since we were so peaceful, the Chinese Government need not suppress us but gave us a new Chief Executive in less than 2 years time!  In fact, we are continuously "fighting" to get direct election for our Chief Executive.  We know that it will happen, but it is done in progression instead of overnight.  If we are too radical, we would go backwards instead of forward.

AMERICAN GIRL:

So, what do you think about the Olympic Games and Tibet?

HONG KONG GIRL:

With all my heart, I think it is only fair to all the world athletes and to China that the world should not mix these issues.   You see, due to our different backgrounds and perspectives, we will always see things differently.  Even a High Court judge friend of mine says that however fair he tries to be at every judgment, there will always be one side happy and one side unhappy.  I just hope that people will not disrupt the Olympic Games events any more.   Let us use this once every 4 years chance to have some fun together instead!